Gateway Arch

A train derailment and the threat of an explosion Monday forced the evacuation of thousands of tourists from the Gateway Arch for several hours. Five cars, including one nearly empty car that carried liquid propane gas, derailed on an elevated approach to the Mississippi River. Three tanker cars containing nitric acid were attached to the derailed cars, but they were pulled away, officials said. Officials worried that the cars might fall off the 50-foot approach and explode.

Eatonville will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony this weekend for its new gateway arch over Kennedy Boulevard. The ceremony will be Saturday at 10 a.m. at Kennedy and Gabriel Street, with a reception to follow. The gateway, which greets visitors to the town with a large clock and a sign identifying the historically black town, arches over the west side of Kennedy. The town also made some improvements to landscaping, irrigation and drainage. The town broke ground on the arch in February.

A man who climbed the 630-foot Gateway Arch with suction cups and parachuted from the top has been charged with two misdemeanors. ''It's clearly a great stunt,'' U.S. Attorney Stephen Higgins said.''It's just something the Park Service doesn't take lightly.'' John Vincent, 25, of El Paso, Texas, was charged with climbing a national monument and parachuting in a national park. He scaled the stainless steel arch before dawn Monday. Last year he parachuted from New York's World Trade Center.

The public is going to be allowed into the new museum and visitor center at Gettysburg National Military Park starting April 14. The facility is part of a $125 million project that also will preserve the park's artifacts, archives and battlefield and create an endowment for future needs. The cyclorama, an 1884 oil painting designed to place viewers in the middle of the climactic battle, is still in the process of being restored. It is scheduled to be open to the public in late September.

ST. LOUIS -- A fire broke out on the grounds of the Gateway Arch on Thursday, prompting officials to evacuate thousands of visitors from the famed landmark. No injuries were reported. National Park Service officials said visitors at the museum beneath the arch were evacuated, as were those who travel by tram to the top of the monument. A total of about 8,000 people were removed.

ST. LOUIS - Sorry folks, the Gateway Arch is closed. That was the message Tuesday on signs posted around the landmark that receives more than 4 million visitors every year. Officials estimated it would take at least a month, and possibly two, to repair damage from a fire. A small blaze broke out Monday night while workers were installing an electrical panel in a room under the north leg of the arch. The arch had been closed for about an hour before the fire started.

A man who videotaped a parachutist's leap from the Gateway Arch has been convicted of misdemeanor charges in the stunt. Ron Carroll, 37, of St. Louis, was convicted Thursday of conspiracy and creating a hazardous condition, U.S. Attorney Stephen Higgins said. John Vincent, 25, of Harvey, La., who climbed the 630-foot arch on Sept. 14, then parachuted, pleaded guilty in December and agreed to testify against Carroll. Carroll could be sentenced to a year in jail and fined $1,000. Vincent could be sentenced to six months in prison and fined $500.

ST. LOUIS -- One of the two trams that take visitors to the top of the Gateway Arch was out of service Sunday after a power failure trapped about 200 people for hours inside the landmark the night before. The arch's deputy superintendent, Frank Mares, said a fuse blew Saturday night after one of nine cables pulling the south tram apparently failed and came in contact with an electrified rail. About 40 people in each tram were stuck, as were 100 at the top of the Arch and others in loading zones.

ST. LOUIS -- The National Park Service is upset about a plan to illuminate the Gateway Arch in pink Monday in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Spokesman Dave Barna said Wednesday that the Park Service is not opposed to the cause, but rather the precedent it sets for possible uses of the 630-foot-tall arch, which the agency is charged with maintaining. "If you allow a certain type of event with one organization, you open it up to everyone else," he said.

In 1787, the Constitutional Convention was convened in Philadelphia after enough delegates had shown up for a quorum. In 1895, playwright Oscar Wilde was convicted of a morals charge in London; he was sentenced to prison. In 1935, Babe Ruth hit the 714th and final home run of his career, for the Boston Braves, in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1961, President Kennedy asked the nation to work toward putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade. In 1963, the Organization of African Unity was founded, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

ST. LOUIS -- One of the two trams that take visitors to the top of the Gateway Arch was out of service Sunday after a power failure trapped about 200 people for hours inside the landmark the night before. The arch's deputy superintendent, Frank Mares, said a fuse blew Saturday night after one of nine cables pulling the south tram apparently failed and came in contact with an electrified rail. About 40 people in each tram were stuck, as were 100 at the top of the Arch and others in loading zones.

In 1787, the Constitutional Convention was convened in Philadelphia after enough delegates had shown up for a quorum. In 1810, Argentina began its revolt against Spain. In 1844, the first telegraphed news dispatch, sent from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore, appeared in the Baltimore Patriot. In 1895, playwright Oscar Wilde was convicted of a morals charge in London; he was sentenced to prison. In 1935, Babe Ruth hit the 714th and final home run of his career. In 1946, Transjordan (now Jordan)

ST. LOUIS -- The National Park Service is upset about a plan to illuminate the Gateway Arch in pink Monday in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Spokesman Dave Barna said Wednesday that the Park Service is not opposed to the cause, but rather the precedent it sets for possible uses of the 630-foot-tall arch, which the agency is charged with maintaining. "If you allow a certain type of event with one organization, you open it up to everyone else," he said.

ST. LOUIS -- A fire broke out on the grounds of the Gateway Arch on Thursday, prompting officials to evacuate thousands of visitors from the famed landmark. No injuries were reported. National Park Service officials said visitors at the museum beneath the arch were evacuated, as were those who travel by tram to the top of the monument. A total of about 8,000 people were removed.

You know about the Rams, but this is where St. Louis really has the edge: BASEBALL ICONS St. Louis: Dizzy Dean and the Gashouse Gang, Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Ozzie Smith and Mark McGwire. New England: Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk, Roger Clemens, Nomar Garciaparra and Pedro Martinez. The edge: Deduct points for Busch Stadium versus Fenway Park, but St. Louis more than makes it up with the 1967 World Series. CUISINE St. Louis: Toasted ravioli. New England: Clam chowder.

Pupule Sports bills itself as the sports network about women and girls crazy to play. Pupule is a Hawaiian word meaning ``crazy, nuts, maybe a little compulsive,'' so the site designation is apt. The goal is to encourage females to engage in sports and reach further than they did yesterday. Retired tennis star Billie Jean King says, ``Girls' participation in high school sports skyrocketed from about 300,000 in 1971 to almost 3 million in 1999. And many of them want to `be like Mia''' -as opposed to Mike.

By David Whitley, Brian Schmitz, L.C. Johnson and Dave Cunningham of The Sentinel Staff, January 25, 2000

You think the St. Louis Rams are balanced? The Gateway Arch in St. Louis is 630 feet tall and 630 feet wide from leg to leg at its base. Built from 1961 to 1966 for a cost of $30 million, the stainless-steel structure is designed to sway as much as 18 inches and can withstand an earthquake. But under normal conditions, it does not sway. All visitors can ride a tram to the top of the nation's tallest memorial - it commemorates the westward growth of the United States between 1803 and 1890 - and are allowed to stay as long as they like until closing time.

Eatonville will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony this weekend for its new gateway arch over Kennedy Boulevard. The ceremony will be Saturday at 10 a.m. at Kennedy and Gabriel Street, with a reception to follow. The gateway, which greets visitors to the town with a large clock and a sign identifying the historically black town, arches over the west side of Kennedy. The town also made some improvements to landscaping, irrigation and drainage. The town broke ground on the arch in February.

By David Whitley, Brian Schmitz, L.C. Johnson and Dave Cunningham of The Sentinel Staff, January 25, 2000

You think the St. Louis Rams are balanced? The Gateway Arch in St. Louis is 630 feet tall and 630 feet wide from leg to leg at its base. Built from 1961 to 1966 for a cost of $30 million, the stainless-steel structure is designed to sway as much as 18 inches and can withstand an earthquake. But under normal conditions, it does not sway. All visitors can ride a tram to the top of the nation's tallest memorial - it commemorates the westward growth of the United States between 1803 and 1890 - and are allowed to stay as long as they like until closing time.